Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Extremely floral with lemon blossom, sliced orange and slightly under-ripe strawberry. Cranberry. Medium to full body. Linear and energetic with a fine and long tannin structure. Drink or hold.
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Vinous
The 2020 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard is laced with crushed red/purplish berry fruit, wild herbs, lavender, sage and rose petal. Aromatic and fleshy, the Fiddlestix is super-expressive today, and pretty classy, too. Hints of kirsch, blood orange and cinnamon linger.
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Wine Spectator
Suave, with creamed plum and crushed blackberry notes carried by a sleek structure through an anise- and black teainfused finish, which lets the fruit take an encore. Drink now through 2027. 2,265 cases made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Blended from several blocks, the 2020 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard is mostly Dijon clones, with a dash of Pommard. It's gently smoky and herbal on the nose, with floral nuances and notes of ripe cherries and strawberries. Aged a year in 25% new French oak, it's medium to full-bodied, with a silky feel and a long, mouthwatering finish.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.